The Organ: Specs and Details

Designed to match the monumental scale of the First Baptist sanctuary, the organ will be a truly impressive instrument. It is only the second five-manual console in the District of Columbia (the first being the console at National City Christian Church, whose design and installation was supervised by Dr. Lon Schreiber, now the organist at First Baptist).

The First Baptist organ is a complex instrument consisting of many parts. The organ is technically two instruments, with the chancel organ (Austin Organs Opus 2795) and the Gallery Organ (Austin Organs Opus 2796) working together to produce a combined field of sound.

Over 20,000 board feet of lumber were used in the instrument’s construction, including poplar, oak, maple, walnut, birch, pine, and bass. Tens of thousands of feet of electrical wiring will be used in the final instrument. The complex computer system which controls the organ utilizes more than 5,000 inputs and outputs.

The large console, designed in part by Dr. Schreiber, will sit directly behind the pulpit during worship services. During concerts, the organ console will be moved to the center of the chancel, allowing those in the congregation to view the instrument and the organist. Learn more about the organ console.

The 7,000 pipe chancel organ will be housed in large chambers on both sides of the chancel area, above the choir loft. The façade pipes will be housed in oak cases carved to match the tracery surrounding the baptistry. Learn more about the chancel organ.

The trompette en chamade will extend out from the balcony with sixty-one horizontal flared brass pipes. These pipes will be voiced as English trumpets. Additionally, trumpets of French timbre will be located above the Gallery Great chamber. Learn more about thetrumpets.

The Gallery Organ will consist of thirty ranks of pipes, which will frame the magnificent redemption window at the rear of the sanctuary. Learn more about the Gallery Organ.